According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Highway Loss Data Institute, 3,852 people died in large truck crashes in 2015. Sixteen percent of those deaths were truck occupants, 69 percent were occupants of passenger vehicles. Many of those crashes were the direct result of driver behavior. In fact, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration “Large Truck Crash Causation Study” cites driver behavior as the critical reason for more than 88 percent of large truck crashes and 93 percent of passenger vehicle crashes.

During Operation Safe Driver Week, law enforcement agencies throughout the United States and Canada increased roadway traffic safety enforcement and education to address dangerous driving behaviors by CMV drivers and passenger vehicle drivers.

The top five warnings/citations issued to CMV drivers were:

State/Local Moving Violations – 84.2 percent (of warnings/citations)

Speeding – 7.4 percent

Failure to Use Seat Belt – 2.6 percent

Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device – 2.5 percent

Using a Handheld Phone – 0.8 percent

The top five warnings/citations issued to passenger vehicle drivers were:

Speeding – 43.5 percent (of warnings/citations)

State/Local Moving Violations – 36.2 percent

Failure to Use Seat Belt – 9.4 percent

Failure to Obey Traffic Control Device – 2.3 percent

Improper Lane Change – 1.5 percent

The following is a closer look at this year’s Operation Safe Driver Week traffic enforcement results:

A total of 38,878 citations/warnings were issued to CMV drivers.

A total of 20,315 citations/warnings were issued to passenger vehicle drivers.

30,714 warnings and 8,164 citations were recorded for CMV drivers.

7,785 warnings and 12,530 citations were recorded for passenger vehicle drivers.

When it comes to distracted driving, 0.1 percent of CMV driver warnings/citations were for texting and 0.8 percent were for using a handheld phone. For passenger vehicle drivers, 0.7 percent of warnings/citations were for texting and 0.5 percent were for using a handheld phone.

For both CMV drivers (2.6 percent) and passenger vehicle drivers (9.4 percent) failure to wear a seat belt was the third most cited traffic enforcement violation for each group.

Less than one percent of warnings/citations for CMV drivers (0.6 percent) and passenger vehicle drivers (0.9 percent) were for following too closely.

16 CMV drivers received a warning/citation for using/equipping a CMV with a radar detector.

A small percentage of warnings/citations were for inattentive or careless driving – 0.2 percent of CMV drivers and 1.3 percent of passenger vehicle drivers.

19 CMV drivers received a citation for operating their vehicle while ill or fatigued; 86 received a warning.

“Countless lives are tragically lost on our roadways due to unsafe, risky, inattentive or careless acts by drivers,” said CVSA Executive Director Collin Mooney. “In fact, driver behavior is often the most important factor in crashes. Operation Safe Driver Week raises awareness about safe driver operations in and around trucks and buses.”

The Operation Safe Driver Program aims to combat the number of deaths and injuries resulting from crashes involving large trucks, buses and passenger vehicles through educational and enforcement strategies in an effort to improve the driving behaviors of all drivers operating in an unsafe manner, either in or around commercial motor vehicles.